Karachi:Perhaps the most celebrated female cricketer of Pakistan, Sana Mir has been showered with praises from both her former teammates as well as her counterparts from other teams including from India.
Sana Mir on Saturday called it a day on her glittering 15-year cricketing career during which she played 226 internationals, including 137 as captain from 2009 to 2017.
After she announced her retirement, messages started to pour to praise arguably Pakistan’s most decorated woman cricketer.
In 120 ODIs, she took 151 wickets and scored 1,630 runs. With 151 ODI wickets, she shares fourth position on the all-time list with Anisa Mohammed of the West Indies. The list is headed by India’s Jhulan Goswami.
“Congratulations Sana Mir on a wonderful career. It was always a pleasure playing against you. A true ambassador of women’s cricket across the globe and someone who inspired a generation of cricketers to take up the sport. Wishing you good luck on your next innings,” former Indian skipper Jhulan Goswami said.
Another Indian cricketer Shikha Pandey congratulated Sana Mir on a fantastic career. “All the best for your future endeavors. Thumps up for a true (women cricket) ambassador,” she said.
“Congratulations Sana on an amazing career with Pakistan and for everything you have done for cricket in your country and globally. You have been an inspirational leader to many and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you,” said former New Zealand captain Suzie Bates.
Sana also had an illustrious career as captain. She captained Pakistan in 72 ODIs, winning 26 and losing 45, and 65 T20Is, winning 26 and losing 36. She captained Pakistan at two World Cups (2013 and 2017) and five ICC Women’s T20 World Cups (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016). She was also named captain of Wisden’s women’s team of the decade.
She is currently ranked 9th and 41st in the ICC’s ODI and T20I bowlers’ lists, respectively. She is 10th and 23rd ranked all-rounder in ODIs and T20Is, respectively. She won 2010 and 2014 Asian Games gold with the Pakistan national women’s cricket team.
Meanwhile, Sana Mir’s former teammates were also full of her praise.
“Dear Sana, your experience, knowledge, dedication and presence will be sorely missed. You are everything one could look for in a mentor. I appreciate you so much and value everything I have learned from you,” Pakistan’s current skipper Bismah Maroof said.
“Thank you for all your support over the past years. Your willingness to help me in other aspects of my life is something I will always appreciate. Your honesty and generosity are inspiring. To the true ambassador of the game, to a friend and sister – Thank you! You will be missed. Good luck with your future endeavours,” she added.
“You have worked hard for Pakistan. It was an honour playing under your leadership. Lots of prayers for the new journey. I pray that bigger achievements awaits you ahead. Thank you for serving Pakistan in the amazing way you did,” Kainat Imtiaz said.
“It has been an absolute pleasure playing with you (Sana Mir). You’ve always did your best for Pakistan cricket. You have been an inspiration to us with your resilience, courage and above all the passion and love you showed towards this beautiful sport. Wish you all the best Buddy,” Syeda Nain Abidi said.